


A Warm Bed in a Warm House in the Cold Rain

by SailFilmnacht



Category: Mushishi
Genre: Comfort No Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, I'ma be honest, KIND OF hurt/comfort but no one's really hurt per se just real cold, M/M, adashino is a concerned doctor and a good friend, it's the middle of the damn night and they gonna fucc, shared body heat trope, so it's, sometimes ginko is stupid, this is a pwp
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-14
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2019-08-23 16:41:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16622579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailFilmnacht/pseuds/SailFilmnacht
Summary: Ginko catches a chill while he's traveling, and Adashino gets him warm again.Yes kids, it's the age-old "let me warm you with my body" trope. Fight me.I didn't have a beta for this, and I've been writing it on my tiny little phone during downtime at work, so please forgive any mistakes or bad narrative you might spot. It's all for fun, and to help pass the time. Enjoy. :)





	1. Cold Rain

It had been raining for days.

Just a slow drizzle at first, which grew steadily into a heavy downpour, until the sound of rain was deafening and all the plants hung heavy with the weight of water. The longer the rain continued, the colder it got, until Ginko was soaked to the bone and could no longer feel his fingers or toes.  
It was impossible to get dry in this weather. Any shelter he managed to make or find was just as drenched as he was, and he was too far from any waystations to veer off course and take refuge. He was, however, only another handful of hours away from his destination; the fishing village where Adashino made his home.  
Nighttime was creeping in fast, turning the dark rainy world even darker, even colder. It was useless to try and sleep in these conditions, so Ginko trudged on through the encroaching dark, picking his way by memory and by the steadily deepening smell of the sea.

Well past midnight, Adashino woke to the sound of knocking at his door. At such a late hour the doctor assumed he had a patient, maybe. Someone with some minor late-night emergency. So he roused himself, foregoing his eyeglass and stumbling groggily through the dark of his house, unsure what he’d be faced with at the door.  
What he found was Ginko propped heavily against the doorframe, his sodden coat draped over his head in an entirely futile attempt to keep him dry or warm. White hair clung like tendrils against the mushishi’s face, plastered down by the rain. Just behind the pale hair Adashino caught a rare glimpse of the dark hollow where an eye should be, and he felt his throat constrict. Briefly, he had to fight the urge to reach out and push the wet locks away for a better look.

“Yo,”  Ginko said by way of greeting. The mushishi looked ready to fall asleep on his feet. His casual tone seemed misplaced against the weariness in his posture. But he was smiling. He always smiled when he came to Adashino’s door.

“Ginko.”  The doctor replied. Not the most clever response, but Adashino was still in a half-asleep daze, confused by his friend’s unexpected arrival, and distracted by the bedraggled sight of him.  “What are you doing here? It’s the middle of the night.”

“It is.”  Ginko shifted, straightening.  “Any chance we could talk about that inside?” 

“Oh. Oh! Yes, of course. Come in.” As if finally realizing the other man was standing out in a deluge, Adashino reached for Ginko to usher him inside. He slid the door shut behind them, and then peeled the heavy, drenched coat off Ginko’s steadily wilting body. He laid the coat aside for the time being and moved to help with the backpack as well, before taking Ginko by the arm to lead him further inside. Beneath his damp shirt the mushishi’s skin was icy. Adashino frowned.  “God, Ginko, you’re freezing. How long were you out there?”   
  


“You tell me. You’re the one who took forever to answer the door.”  Ginko flashed his friend a teasing, albeit exhausted grin.

Adashino  wasn’t amused. The chill seeping into his palms off the other man was too worrisome to be making jokes around.  “Don’t be an ass. You know what I mean.”

There was a brief stint of silence, in which Adashino could feel guilt dripping off the mushishi as much as the rainwater was. And then at last Ginko tentatively admitted,  “It’s been a few days.”

“A few-”  Adashino stopped short, the action yanking the mushishi to a halt as well.  “A  _ few days _ ??”  It was unclear whether there was more exasperation or horror in the doctor’s voice, but it was the concern that won out over everything else.  “Ginko, it’s been raining all week! Why didn’t you stop somewhere?”

“I did.” Ginko offered with a small shrug, placid gaze trained on his friend.  “Here I am. Yours was the closest place.” 

“That’s not-”  Adashino started. There was a well of affection for his stupid, stupid friend that left him momentarily wordless. He couldn’t help but feel pleased whenever he was reminded that of all places, sometimes Ginko preferred to be  _ here. _ Adashino tried again.  
“You shouldn’t have-”  But Ginko was watching him with that same weary amusement from moments before, droplets winding their way down his neck. The dark hollow beneath wet hair seemingly trained on Adashino, as if it could see. The cold of Ginko’s body seeped into the doctor’s hands.  
Finally, Adashino demanded,  “What the  _ hell _ is wrong with you?”

Ginko raised his brows in silent question.

“You realize that if you die of pneumonia out there in the forest, no one’s ever going to find you, right?”  Spurred by too many things, Adashino didn’t give the mushishi a chance to answer him. He dragged his friend through the dark house, towards the bath.  “This isn’t a free clinic, you know. If you wind up with a cold while you’re here, I’m absolutely sending you a bill.”

“That implies you’re willing to take care of me, at least.”  Despite his exhaustion Ginko seemed to be doing just fine managing these teasing little jabs every chance he got.

Adashino's subsequent blush was hidden by the dark, but Ginko could still feel the heat of it radiating off the doctor in the small space between them.  
Instead of a retort from his friend, Ginko got shoved the last few feet towards the bath room, only Adashino's voice following him in. 

“The water should still be hot in there. Take your time, get warmed back up. I'll make a fire and have some tea ready when you're done.”  
And with that the doctor stalked back down the hall the way they had come, muttering to himself. Ginko obediently stepped into the room for a soak.


	2. Warm House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Look it's gonna be a pwp I don't know what yall were expecting but a good plot doesn't live here  
> Once again, I wrote this on the fly and I don't have a beta so it's gonna be messy, please be gentle if you find issues you wanna point out  
> Yes, smut will happen. In the next chapter, I promise. B)  
> Yes, I'm still working on Heart Of The Sea. I refuse to die until it's finished, don't worry.

There was a modest fire going when the mushishi eventually emerged from the bath. The room Adashino had set up in was already a cozy temperature, and filled with the smell of burning cedar.

Ginko smelled tea as well, and he spotted the cups set on the floor near the fire, saw the pot hung high over the flames to keep its contents warm.

Adashino came into the room from a different door, wiping his hands on a cloth. He had his eyeglass now, and he'd changed out of his sleeping clothes. Lamps had been lit around the room, and they cast a dim glow in the corners where the fire's light couldn't reach. Even at such a late hour, Adashino was giving a proper welcome.

The doctor stopped short when he caught sight of Ginko, but he smiled at his friend, all his exasperation from earlier replaced by a warm fondness.  

“Ah, good. You found the clothes I put out for you.”

Ginko looked down at himself and plucked at the hem of the nemaki he wore.

“I could have sworn I left spare clothes of my own with you for exactly this kind of occasion.”

“Oh?”  Adashino's smile seemed to grow sharp. The man looked almost fox-like.  “Strange, I must have misplaced them. I'll look around tomorrow.”

“Adashino…”

“Regular clothing for one night isn't going to kill you. Now, sit down over there by the fire so you can get properly dried off. There won’t be any point in you spending an hour in the bath if you’re just going to stay wet and get chilled again.”

Ginko moved to settle in on a cushion by the fire, mild surprise on his face as he looked up at his friend.  “I was in there for an hour? Really?”

“Mm.”  Adashino nodded, arms crossed and his hands tucked neatly into the sleeves of the opposite arms.  “Nearly so. Did you fall asleep in there?”

“I might have dozed a little.”  Ginko admitted.

Adashino snorted a quiet laugh and shook his head.  “So not only did you go wandering around in the wilderness trying to catch pneumonia, but now you've nearly drowned yourself as well. Not the smartest decisions you could have made, Ginko.”

The mushishi leveled a bemused look at his friend, his lips quirked in such a way that it wasn't quite clear whether he was grimacing or smiling. There was a brief stretch of silence, long enough to make Adashino start feeling uncomfortable. The doctor fidgeted where he stood, wondering if he'd gone just a bit too far with the friendly jabs, or if Ginko was simply too tired at this point for their usual banter.

But then Ginko raised a brow and tilted his head ever so slightly, tried to sound exasperated but only managed a tired sort of humor.  “Are you going to pour me some tea, Adashino, or do I have to serve myself?”

No lines crossed between them yet.

Adashino smiled.  “I wonder when you're going to feel comfortable enough here to just help yourself.”

“You said you would take care of me.”

“If you were _sick_!”  The doctor barked an incredulous laugh.  “And I fully intend to charge you for it if that's the case. I wasn't joking about that.”

“You're a cruel man, sensei.”  Ginko was the one to laugh this time. And then he gestured to the cushion across from him to indicate that _he_ wasn't joking about the tea.

Adashino moved to pull the kettle away from the fire and then placed it between Ginko and himself as he sat down. The mushishi pushed the cups towards him lazily, and Adashino poured for them both.

“I can't believe you're still making me do this for you,”  Adashino said in a wry tone as he handed Ginko the cup. “How long have we know each other, and you still think you're not allowed to make yourself at home?”

“If I start acting like I live here, you're just going to use that as an excuse to make yourself at home with _my_ things.”  

Ginko was expecting protests or some kind of claim of innocence from the doctor, but their fingers had brushed as Ginko accepted his tea, and Adashino was frowning at the cup pressed between their hands, and at Ginko's fingers overlapping his own.

“...Adashino?”  The mushishi asked quietly, trying to gently prompt his friend back into the moment.  “You can let go of the cup, I've got it.”

“Your hands are still ice cold, Ginko. That's not good.”  Adashino looked up and his expression was concerned once more, all of the dry amusement gone.  “Didn’t the bath warm you up at all?”

“It did.”  Ginko carefully pried the cup from his friend’s hand and took a sip, eyeing Adashino through the steam of the tea. The doctor stared right back with a sharp, scrutinizing gaze, equal parts exasperated with the man and patiently waiting for Ginko to drop the other shoe. Eventually, the mushishi lowered the tea to his lap, hands cupped around the heated stoneware. He shrugged.  “I’m not sure what else you expect me to say about it, Adashino. I’m certainly warmer than when I got here.”

“And still _freezing_ !”  The doctor tossed his hands in the air in irritation, entirely fed up with his friend’s casual avoidance.  “I could have gotten you some warmer clothes, or a blanket. I could have made a bigger fire.  
  
“The fire’s fine.”  Ginko offered.

Adashino chose to ignore this interjection.  “Why didn’t you _say_ something if you were still feeling cold after you got out of the bath? Why bother coming here to get out of the rain if you’re just going to sit on my floor and freeze to death anyway?"  
  
“Adashino, really. It’s not _that_ dire… You’re being-”  
  
But Adashino was pushing himself to his feet, still talking.  “You’re an idiot, Ginko. That’s my professional diagnosis. No common sense whatsoever when it comes to your own damn well being.”  He was leaving the room as he continued, muttering half at Ginko and half to himself along a similar chiding vein as he disappeared from the room and down a darkened hallway.

Ginko heard the muffled slide of a door, and when it was pulled shut again shortly after, the mushishi was certain that Adashino had abandon him for the night out of irritation. But moments later he was relieved to see the doctor returning to the room with a large, heavy blanket heaped in his arms.  
  
“Look,”  Ginko started, hoping to smooth down his friend’s hackles,  “I feel _fine_ . You don’t need to worry so m-”  
  
“Oh shut up.”  Adashino hauled the blanket across the room and straight toward Ginko.

But the mushishi didn’t feel the weight of the blanket drop down over him like he was expecting. Instead, he watched as Adashino stalked right past him. Ginko turned to look, but the doctor was already settling down on the floor behind him, legs to either side of Ginko’s hips, his chest pressed close against the mushishi’s back. The weight of him settled comfortably against Ginko’s body. Then Adashino dragged the heavy blanket around them both, arms wrapped around Ginko’s waist to pull the blanket’s edges together.

“There.”  The doctor huffed.

Silence settled around them as heavy as the blanket, disturbed only by the soft crackle of the fire. Tentatively, Ginko pressed backwards into Adashino’s weight and felt the doctor lean just a little more heavily against him.  
  
“Sit still.”  Adashino grumbled from behind.  “Or if you have to fidget, drink your tea.”

“Through the blanket?”  Ginko couldn’t help himself.  
  
Adashino grumbled again, but shifted the blanket just enough so that the mushishi could get an arm past the edges and lift his cup. Ginko could tell Adashino wasn’t really feeling as prickly as he was trying to convey, but he decided not to test the man’s patience.

“So.”  He started quietly. Then paused to sip his tea. Took his time before he added,  “Here we both are under the same blanket.”

“You feel like a piece of ice.”  Adashino told him, as if he was speaking to a particularly stupid child.  “If you don’t have an external heat source under here with you the blanket is only going to insulate the cold, and you’ll never get warmed up. You know this.”  
  
“I do.”  Ginko conceded. He finished his tea and set the cup aside.  “I wasn’t suggesting I didn’t. But you have a kotatsu. You have futon warmers. You didn’t have to do _this_.”

The doctor was silent for a moment, too busy shaking his head and rolling his eyes  to bother with an immediate answer. But at last he said, gently, “I don’t understand you, Ginko. Barely ten minutes ago you were whining because you didn’t want to pour tea for yourself, and now you’re trying to pretend you don’t appreciate being pampered.”

Beneath the blanket Adashino felt a chilled hand settle over his thigh, just above the knee. The touch was light and slipped away again fast enough that either of the men could pretend it was an accident if they wanted to.

“I _do_ appreciate it.”  Ginko murmured, quiet enough that Adashino almost didn’t hear him over the sound of the fire.


End file.
